Birkbeck's MA Applied Medical Humanities is designed to help medical practitioners explore and understand their complex, everyday clinical experiences with diverse patients and cultures. Medical humanities is a rich interdisciplinary field of study in which medicine and its practices are examined through the lenses of the humanities disciplines, including art, cultural and critical studies, film, history, law, literature and philosophy.

This practice-based programme utilises the insights and skills of the humanities disciplines to support the development of the professional capabilities, values and behaviours defined by the GMC and NMC and core to clinical practice. Its focus on the integration of medicine and humanities will help you develop a deeper understanding of your clinical practice, locate ways of enhancing patient care and explore strategies for your own self-care. You will acquire new skills in verbal and written communication, research and critical analysis that will expand your existing professional skill-set.

To contextualise Western medicine and the cultural specificity of medicine in Britain, you will undertake a placement within another speciality or medical tradition at the end of your first year. The insights you gain in this placement will allow you to develop a reflexive understanding of your own speciality and the settings in which you deliver healthcare.

This programme is relevant for practitioners across all stages of medical and healthcare careers: in medicine, from foundation years, through speciality training, to consultant level; in nursing, from early career through to specialist and consultant levels. Its intensive delivery makes it possible for full-time clinicians and healthcare professionals, from the UK and overseas, to combine study with clinical commitments.

Highlights

Arts and humanities at Birkbeck are ranked fifth best in London, 18th in the UK and 87th globally in the 2019 Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject.

In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), English Language and Literature at Birkbeck achieved 100% for a research environment conducive to producing research of the highest quality, while 91% of eligible staff submitted research, of which 75% was recognised as world-leading or internationally excellent.

In addition to our own richly resourced library, Birkbeck’s location in Bloomsbury offers excellent access to all the major research libraries in London, including Senate House Library, the British Library and the Wellcome Collection, the foremost museum and library of medicine and science in the UK.

The Birkbeck Centre for Medical Humanities is a vibrant and dynamic hub for new medical humanities research, hosting national and international conferences, symposia and lectures. It also runs a regular reading group for academic staff and postgraduate students, which meets twice termly to discuss a wide range of topics and materials, both clinical and cultural.

The School of Arts works collaboratively with various medical institutions including St George’s Medical School, Imperial College and the Royal College of Psychiatrists. It is also an official partner of the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London. Opportunities for students have included a year’s free membership of the ICA, private views, discounts on all talks and events, free members' screenings and £3 cinema tickets on Tuesdays, up to 25% off ICA Artists' Editions and a monthly e-newsletter.

Course structure

In Year 1, you take the core module Perspectives, Practices and Patients in Term 1, the compulsory module A Confusion of Tongues: Illness, Language, Writing in Term 2 and Psycho-Social Research: Working Below the Surface in Term 3.

At the end of Year 1, your summer task is to negotiate a placement within another medical tradition, such as British herbalism, acupuncture or traditional Chinese medicine, or another medical speciality that is distinct from your own. A six-week observation of an ‘alternative’ medical practice and tradition forms a fundamental part of the core module in Year 2.

In Year 2, you take the core module Third Spaces: Working with Your Own and Other Cultures in Term 1 and the compulsory module Histories and Representations of Medicine: Practices and Pedagogies in Term 2. You attend a course on research skills and then undertake a 15,000-word dissertation, for submission at the end of September, in Term 3.

Entry requirements

We will review every postgraduate application to Birkbeck on its individual merits and your professional qualifications and/or relevant work experience will be taken into consideration positively. We actively support and encourage applications from mature learners.

On your application form, please list all your relevant qualifications and experience, including those you expect to achieve.

Apply now to secure your place and allow enough time for the application and enrolment process.
You do not need to have completed your current qualification to start your application.

Course specific entry requirements

You must have graduated from a UK medical school or hold an equivalent second-class honours degree from an overseas medical school.

Applicants from other healthcare or professional backgrounds relevant to medicine and medical regulation may be admitted to the programme. Such applicants must hold relevant professional qualifications and/or a second-class honours degree (2:2 or above).

International Entry Requirements

Our standard postgraduate entry requirement for international students is a second-class honours degree (2:2 or above) from a UK university or an equivalent international qualification.

If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, our usual requirement is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests.
Some courses may require higher scores, particularly in the following subject areas:

Visa requirements

If you are not from the European Economic Area (EEA) and/or Switzerland and you are coming to study in the UK, you may need to apply for a visa.

The visa you apply for varies according to the length of your course:

Courses of more than six months' duration.

Courses of less than six months' duration.

Pre-sessional English language courses.

International students who require a Tier 4 visa should apply for our full-time courses (with the exception of modular enrolment certificates of higher education and graduate certificates), as these qualify for Tier 4 sponsorship. If you are living in the UK on a Tier 4 visa, you will not be eligible to enrol as a student on Birkbeck's part-time courses (with the exception of some modules).

Credits and Accredited Prior Learning (APL)

If you have studied at university previously, you may have accumulated credits through the modules you studied.
It may be possible to transfer these credits from your previous study to Birkbeck or another institution.
You should discuss this with the Programme Director when you are making your application.

Fees

Students are charged a tuition fee in each year of their programme. Tuition fees for students continuing on their programme in following years may be subject to annual inflationary increases. For more information, please see the College Fees Policy.

Teaching

At Birkbeck, almost all of our courses are taught in the evening and our teaching is designed to support students
who are juggling evening study with work and other daytime commitments. We actively encourage innovative and
engaging ways of teaching, to ensure our students have the best learning experience. In the 2017 Teaching
Excellence Framework (TEF), the government’s system for rating university teaching, Birkbeck was allocated a
Silver award.

Teaching may include formal lectures, seminars, and practical classes and tutorials. Formal lectures are used in
most degree programmes to give an overview of a particular field of study. They aim to provide the stimulus and
the starting point for deeper exploration of the subject during your own personal reading. Seminars give you the
chance to explore a specific aspect of your subject in depth and to discuss and exchange ideas with fellow
students. They typically require preparatory study.

Our distance-learning and blended-learning courses and modules are self-directed and we will provide you with
interactive learning opportunities and encourage you to collaborate and engage via various learning technologies.
These courses involve limited or no face-to-face contact between students and module tutors.

In addition, you will have access to pastoral support via a named Personal Tutor.

Methods of teaching on this course

Contact hours

On our taught courses, you will have scheduled teaching and study sessions each year. Alongside this, you will
also undertake assessment activities and independent learning outside of class. Depending on the modules you take,
you may also have additional scheduled academic activities, such as tutorials, dissertation supervision, practical
classes, visits and fieldtrips.

On our taught courses, the actual amount of time you spend in the classroom and in contact with your lecturers will
depend on your course, the option modules you select and when you undertake your final-year project.

On our distance-learning and blended-learning courses, discussion, collaboration and interaction with your lecturers
and fellow students are encouraged and enabled through various learning technologies, but you may have limited or
no face-to-face contact with your module tutors.

Timetables

Timetables are usually available from September onwards and you can access your personalised timetable via your
My Birkbeck Profile online (if you have been invited to enrol).

Indicative class size

Class sizes vary, depending on your course, the module you are undertaking, and the method of teaching.
For example, lectures are presented to larger groups, whereas seminars usually consist of small,
interactive groups led by a tutor.

Independent learning

On our taught courses, much of your time outside of class will be spent on self-directed, independent learning,
including preparing for classes and following up afterwards. This will usually include, but is not limited to,
reading books and journal articles, undertaking research, working on coursework and assignments, and preparing
for presentations and assessments.

Independent learning is absolutely vital to your success as a student. Everyone is different, and the study time
required varies topic by topic, but, as a guide, expect to schedule up to five hours of self-study for each hour
of teaching.

On our distance-learning and blended-learning courses, the emphasis is very much on independent, self-directed
learning and you will be expected to manage your own learning, with the support of your module tutors and various
learning technologies.

Study skills and additional support

Birkbeck offers study and learning support to undergraduate and postgraduate students to help them succeed.
Our Learning Development Service can
help you in the following areas:

Assessment

Assessment is an integral part of your university studies and usually consists of a combination of coursework and
examinations, although this will vary from course to course - on some of our courses, assessment is entirely by
coursework. The methods of assessment on this course are specified below under 'Methods of assessment on this
course'. You will need to allow time to complete coursework and prepare for exams.

Where a course has unseen written examinations, these may be held termly, but, on the majority of our courses,
exams are usually taken in the Summer term, during May to June. Exams may be held at other times of the year as
well. In most cases, exams are held during the day on a weekday - if you have daytime commitments, you will need
to make arrangements for daytime attendance - but some exams are held in the evening. Exam timetables are
published online.

Methods of assessment on this course

Careers and employability

Graduates go in to careers in healthcare, medicine, education and management. Possible professions include healthcare service manager, general practice or hospital doctor, or health promotion specialist. This degree may also be useful in becoming a higher education lecturer, management consultant, or science writer.

We offer a comprehensive Careers and Employability Service to help you advance your career, while our in-house, professional recruitment consultancy, Birkbeck Talent, works with London’s top employers to help you gain work experience that fits in with your evening studies.